Woodlife

It was just a wonderful day. Not merely because the temperature was 15C; nor that the goat willow was out; nor that the woods were filled with the sound of birds building their nests. No. All that was secondary to the fact that I was out and I was witnessing it first hand.

I don’t know what I expected but I assumed spring was in full swing. It was in many ways, but apart from the odd spurt of nettle, the odd outcrop of bitter arum lily leaves and the aforementioned goat willow, there wasn’t the carpet of green I expected. Mind you, I was only in the local woods (Park woods) and there’s not a great amount of ground flowering plants.

It was a different matter in the trees. The rooks were shouting the odds and if there was any aural indication of spring, this was it. Normally they would be foraging in the nearby fields. Now they were squabbling at the top of the trees, building their nests of long twigs. In my euphoria to be out in the woods, even their constant squawking was acceptable.

The sounds of the rooks were often inter-dispersed with the sound of the green woodpecker or “Yaffler” as it’s known in these parts.  Its laughing call was a mocking challenge to try to locate them in amongst the tree. Only occasional glimpses of green and red were seen. The more common smaller birds were coming uncommonly close. The inquisitive robin, blue tits and great tits chattering excitedly.  I was pleased to capture an elusive wren. Normally they don’t stay in one place long enough to focus on them. I realised the reason for the sudden company. A sparrowhawk swept silently at speed across the woods at head height; once from north to south and then back again.

I rigged my hammock, opened a flask of coffee and lapped up the warmth of the sun. I had plans and a rucksack full of tools. I decided to soak up the sun instead. It wasn’t long until I was asleep.

The woods were still soaked from recent rains. Being a run off for the fields, they were also still quite flooded. Unfortunately the Aircast boot I was wearing is not in any way waterproof, which restricted me to the drier west side of the woods. But enough was enough for today. I took my time walking out of the woods grateful that I had brought the crutches for additional support. I saw old fox, badger and muntjac tracks. Yes, it was just a wonderful day.